Raina likely to miss third ODI

Auckland, 2014/Jan/24 05:26:00

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Suresh Raina is likely to miss the third ODI against New Zealand in Auckland as the left-hander suffered an injury to his elbow during the Indian team's practice session ahead of their do-or-die encounter.

Raina was hit on his left elbow while batting in the nets and suffered soft tissue damage. The 27-year-old was treated with ice-packs and his elbow was heavily bandaged before he was taken for a precautionary X-ray.

Raina has been struggling for runs and his weakness against short-pitched deliveries has been regularly exploited by the opposition bowlers. Since June 2013, Raina has scored just 497 runs in 29 ODIs at an average of 26.15 with a solitary half-century against his name.

While his lack of form has been a concern, India captain MS Dhoni had hoped that the left-hander could take some confidence from the way he batted in the second ODI. Raina did well in the Hamilton game, coming out all guns blazing in an aggressive 22-ball knock, when he creamed 35 runs to keep India in the hunt.

In case Raina fails to recover in time for the game, the Indians are likely to include Ambati Rayudu, who has played four ODIs for India. Rayudu, who was given an opportunity in the ODI series against Zimbabwe last year, scored a half-century on debut while he has been a vital cog for the Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League and Champions League.

He has retired from Test cricket and handed over the reins to Virat Kohli but MS Dhoni has stayed back with the Indian Test team as a back-up wicketkeeper for the last Test match against Australia scheduled to be played in Sydney from January 6.

Former India captain Rahul Dravid said Zaheer Khan must contemplate his future with the team after another insipid tour since his comeback from a year-long layoff, that saw him travel to France to get back in shape.